''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (SS-TV; ) was the ''
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...
'' (SS) organization responsible for administering the
Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
and
extermination camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
for
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, among similar duties.
While the ''
Totenkopf
''Totenkopf'' (, i.e. ''skull'', literally "dead person's head") is the German word for the skull and crossbones symbol. The "skull and crossbones" symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as ...
'' was the universal cap badge of the SS, the SS-TV also wore this insignia on the right
collar tab to distinguish itself from other SS formations.
The SS-TV originally created in 1933 was an independent unit within the SS, with its own command structure. It ran the camps throughout
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and later in
occupied Europe
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
. Camps in Germany included
Dachau,
Bergen-Belsen
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...
, and
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...
; camps elsewhere in Europe included
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
-
Birkenau in
German occupied Poland
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
Mauthausen
Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regu ...
in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
among the numerous other concentration camps, and
death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
handled with the utmost of secrecy. The extermination camps' function was genocide; they included
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...
,
Bełżec, and
Sobibór
Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland.
As ...
built specifically for ''
Aktion Reinhard
or ''Einsatz Reinhard''
, location = Occupied Poland
, date = October 1941 – November 1943
, incident_type = Mass deportations to extermination camps
, perpetrators = Odilo Globočnik, Hermann Höfle, Richard Thomalla, Erwi ...
'', as well as the original
Chełmno extermination camp
, known for =
, location = Near Chełmno nad Nerem, ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (German-occupied Poland)
, built by =
, operated by =
, commandant = Herbert Lange, Christian Wirth
, original use =
, construction =
, in operatio ...
, and
Majdanek
Majdanek (or Lublin) was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had seven gas chambers, two wooden gallows, a ...
which was fitted with mass killing facilities, along with Auschwitz. They were responsible for facilitating what the Nazis called
the Final Solution
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final ...
, known since the war as
the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
; perpetrated by the SS within the command structure of the
Reich Security Main Office
The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and ''Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...
, subordinate to
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
, and the
SS Economic and Administrative Main Office or WVHA.
At the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in Europe, the
SS Division ''Totenkopf'' was formed from SS-TV personnel. It soon developed a reputation for brutality, participating in
war crimes such as the
Le Paradis massacre
The Le Paradis massacre was a World War II war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of ''Hauptsturmführer'' Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the Battle of France, at a ...
in 1940 during the
Fall of France. On the
Eastern Front, the mass shootings of Polish and Soviet civilians in
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
were the work of ''
Einsatzgruppen
(, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the im ...
'' mobile death squads and their subgroups called ''
Einsatzkommando
During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellectu ...
''. These units were organized by
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
and
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
.
Formation
After taking national power in 1933, the Nazi Party launched a new programme of mass incarceration of the so-called enemies of the state. Originally there were only wild camps in operation. Springing up in every town across Germany "like mushrooms after the rain" (Himmler's quote), the early camps utilized lockable spaces usually without infrastructure for permanent detention (i.e. engine rooms, brewery floors, storage facilities, cellars). Following the fall from power of the paramilitary Brownshirts of the
SA during the NSDAP purge known as the
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
(30 June to 2 July 1934), the SS took control of the fledgling camp system. The SS founded state-run concentration camps at
Dachau,
Oranienburg
Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.
Geography
Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.
Division of the town
Oranienburg ...
, and
Esterwegen
Esterwegen is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
Esterwegen lies in northwest Germany, less than from the Dutch border and about from the sea.
Demographics
In 2015 the population was 5,280.
Government ...
, which held the total of 107,000 'undesirables' already by 1935.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-78612-0010, KZ Sachsenhausen, SS-Unterführer beim Zählappell](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-78612-0010%2C_KZ_Sachsenhausen%2C_SS-Unterf%C3%BChrer_beim_Z%C3%A4hlappell.jpg)
On 26 June 1933, ''
Reichsführer-SS
(, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...
''
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
appointed ''SS-
Oberführer
__NOTOC__
''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...
''
Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke (17 October 1892 – 26 February 1943) was a senior SS functionary and Waffen SS divisional commander during the Nazi era. He was one of the key figures in the development of Nazi concentration camps. Eicke served as the seco ...
the ''
Kommandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
'' of the
Dachau concentration camp
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
. Eicke requested a permanent unit that would be subordinate only to him, and hence the ''SS-Wachverbände'' (guard units) were formed. Eicke began his infamous tenure by issuing new orders about the killing of inmates trying to escape (''
Postenpflicht
The ''Postenpflicht'' ( German: "Duty of guards") was a general order issued to SS-Totenkopfverbände guards in Nazi concentration camps to summarily execute insubordinate prisoners. The order required guards to shoot prisoners who engaged ...
''). He developed the first ''
Lagerordnung
The Disciplinary and Penal Code (german: Lagerordnung) was first written for Dachau concentration camp and became the uniform code at all SS concentration camps in the Third Reich on January 1, 1934. Also known as the ''Strafkatalog'' (Punishment ...
'', a Nazi disciplinary and penal code regulating the system of extreme disciplinary sanctions for detainees. His rules were adopted by all concentration camps of Nazi Germany as of 1 January 1934. Eicke was promoted to ''SS-
Brigadeführer
''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...
'' (equivalent to a
major-general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the army) on 30 January 1934. Following the Night of the Long Knives, Eicke – who played a role in the affair by shooting SA chief
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
– was again promoted to the rank of ''SS-
Gruppenführer'' and officially appointed
Inspector of Concentration Camps
The Concentration Camps Inspectorate (CCI) or in German, IKL (''Inspektion der Konzentrationslager''; ) was the central SS administrative and managerial authority for the concentration camps of the Third Reich. Created by Theodor Eicke, it was or ...
and Commander of the SS-Wachverbände. Thereafter, all remaining SA-run camps were taken over by the SS. In his role as the Concentration Camps Inspector, Eicke began a large reorganisation of the camps in 1935. The smaller camps were dismantled. Dachau concentration camp remained, then personnel from Dachau went on to work at
Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...
and
Oranienburg
Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.
Geography
Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.
Division of the town
Oranienburg ...
, where Eicke established his central office.
In 1935, Dachau became the training center for the concentration camps service. Many of the early recruits came from the ranks of the SA and ''
Allgemeine SS
The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autum ...
''. Senior roles were filled by personnel from the ''
Ordnungspolizei
The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (), abbreviated ''Orpo'', meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction w ...
'', the police who maintained order. On 29 March 1936, concentration camp guards and administration units were officially designated as the ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (SS-TV). In the summer of 1937,
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...
became operational, followed by
Ravensbrück (near
Lichtenburg) in May 1939. There were other new camps in Austria, such as
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...
, which opened in 1938. All SS camps' regulations, both for guards and prisoners, followed the Dachau camp model.
Further development
![Bundesarchiv Bild 152-11-12, Dachau, Konzentrationslager, Besuch Himmlers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Bundesarchiv_Bild_152-11-12%2C_Dachau%2C_Konzentrationslager%2C_Besuch_Himmlers.jpg)
In 1935, as the concentration camp system within Germany expanded, groups of camps were organized into ''Wachsturmbanne'' (battalions) under the office of the Inspector of Concentration Camps who answered directly to the SS headquarters office and
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
. When the ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' were formally established in March 1936, the group was organized into six ''Wachtruppen'' situated at each of Germany's major concentration camps. In April 1936, Eicke was named commander of the ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' and the number of men under his command increased from 2,876 to 3,222; the Concentration Camps Inspectorate (CCI) was also provided official funding through the Reich's budget office, and Eicke was allowed to recruit future troops from the Hitler Youth based on regional needs. In 1937, the ''Wachsturmbanne'' were in turn organized into three main ''SS-Totenkopfstandarten'' (regiments).
By 1936, Eicke had also begun to establish military formations of concentration camp personnel which eventually became the
''Totenkopf'' Division and other units of the Waffen-SS. In the early days of the military camp service formation, the group's exact chain of command was contested since Eicke as ''Führer der Totenkopfverbände'' exercised personal control of the group but also, as it was considered an armed SS formation, authority over the armed units was claimed by the ''
SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT), which had been first formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party. But at this time, Himmler and Eicke envisioned the armed SS-VT as a force for internal "police and security operations". Later by 1938, it became clear that the SS-VT troops were to be used for front-line "purposes", as well.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-W0402-503, Theodor Eicke](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-W0402-503%2C_Theodor_Eicke.jpg)
Eicke in his role as the commander of the SS-TV, continued to reorganize the camp system by dismantling smaller camps. By August 1937 only Dachau,
Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...
,
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...
and
Ravensbrück remained in Germany. In 1938 Eicke oversaw the building of new camps in Austria following the ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'', such as
Mauthausen
Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regu ...
. Eicke's reorganization and the introduction of forced labor made the camps one of the SS's most powerful tools, but it earned him the enmity of
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
and ''
Sicherheitsdienst
' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...
'' (SD) chief,
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, who wanted to take over control of the concentration camp system. Himmler wanted to keep a separation of power, so Eicke remained in command of the SS-TV and camp operations. This kept control of the camps out of the hands of the Gestapo or the SD.
By April 1938, the SS-TV had four regiments of three storm battalions with three infantry companies, one machine gun company and medical, communication and transportation units. On 17 August 1938 Hitler decreed, at Himmler's request, the SS-TV to be the official reserve for the SS-VT; this would over the course of the war lead to a constant flux of men between the Waffen-SS and the concentration camps. Himmler's intention was simply to expand his private army by using the SS-TV (as well as the police, which he also controlled) as a manpower pool. Himmler sought and obtained a further decree, issued on 18 May 1939, which authorized the expansion of the SS-TV to 50,000 men, and directed the army to provide it with military equipment, something the army had resisted.
Invasion of Poland
During the German
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
in September 1939, Eicke's SS-TV field forces numbered four infantry regiments and a cavalry regiment, plus two battalions placed in
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...
. The SS-TV role in the attack on Poland was not military in spite of close proximity to combat. "Their military capabilities were employed instead in terrorizing the civilian population through acts that included hunting down straggling Polish soldiers, confiscating agricultural produce and livestock, and torturing and murdering large numbers of Polish political leaders, aristocrats, businessmen, priests, intellectuals, and Jews." Eicke's three regiments, Oberbayern, Brandenburg and Thuringen, were reformed as the first ''
Einsatzgruppen
(, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the im ...
''; the Oberbayern and the Thuringen (EG II and EG z. B.V) followed the
Tenth Army in
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
; the Brandenburg (EG III) followed the
Eight Army across
Warthegau
The ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (initially ''Reichsgau Posen'', also: ''Warthegau'') was a Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Polish territory annexed in 1939 during World War II. It comprised the region of Greater Poland and adjacent ...
. The behavior of these ''Standarten'' in Poland elicited some protests from officers of the army, including 8th Army commander
Johannes Blaskowitz
Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After joining the Imperial German Army in ...
who wrote a memorandum to
Walther von Brauchitsch
Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German field marshal and the Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during World War II. Born into an aristocratic military family ...
detailing the SS-TV atrocities, unaware that they were planned years in advance by the
Central Unit II P-Poland under
Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inc ...
who himself coordinated secret extermination actions including
Operation Tannenberg
Operation Tannenberg (german: Unternehmen Tannenberg) was a codename for one of the anti-Polish extermination actions by Nazi Germany that were directed at the Poles during the opening stages of World War II in Europe, as part of the ''Generalplan ...
and the ''
Intelligenzaktion
The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders which was committed against the Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) early in the ...
'' both targeting more than 61,000 members of
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
elites during the opening stages of World War II.
At the beginning of war in Europe, the SS forces consisted of roughly 250,000 servicemen spread out across multiple branches,
[Office of the United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Asis C (June 1997)]
Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression.
''Volume II: The Schutzstaffeln (SS).'' Part 3 of 16 (digitized by nizkor.org). . with transferable ranks and service records from police regiments and the army.
Himmler's military formations at this time comprised several subgroups, including the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'', which would become the basis of the
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
. Hitler approved further expansion of the armed SS formations. By October 1939, a new SS military division the
''SS-Totenkopf'' was formed. The ''Totenkopf'' was initially formed from concentration camp guards of the ''
Standarten In Nazi Germany, the ''Standarte'' (pl. ''Standarten'') was a paramilitary unit of Nazi Party (NSDAP), ''Sturmabteilung'', NSKK, NSFK, and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). Translated literally as "Regimental standard", the name refers to the flag paramilit ...
'' (regiments) of the SS-TV and soldiers from the ''SS-Heimwehr "Danzig''. Members of other SS militias were also transferred into the division in early 1940; these units had been involved in multiple massacres of Polish civilians, political leaders and prisoners of war.
From fall 1939 to spring 1940 a massive recruitment effort in Germany raised no fewer than twelve new ''TK-Standarten'' (four times the size of the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'') in anticipation of the coming attack on France. Both Eicke personally and his ''Totenkopf'' Division performed poorly during
Fall Gelb
(Case Yellow), the invasion of France and the Low Countries
, scope = Strategic
, type =
, location = South-west Netherlands, central Belgium, northern France
, coordinates =
, planned = 1940
, planned_by = Erich von ...
therefore Himmler resolved to curb his decisions which had spurred a conflict with
Hausser and
Dietrich; especially his designation of ''TK-Standarten'' as reserves for his ''Totenkopf'' Division alone, and the fact that the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' military supplies were stored at Eicke's concentration camps. On 15 August 1940 Himmler dissolved Eicke's Inspectorate of ''SS-Totenkopfstandarten'' using as justification several well-publicized atrocities committed by the Division in France, and transferred the ''Totenkopf'' Division, the independent ''TK-Standarten'', and their reserve and replacement system to the newly formed Waffen-SS high command. In February 1941 the ''Totenkopf'' designation was removed from the names of all units other than the ''Totenkopf'' Division and the camp ''Totenkopfwachsturmbanne'', and their personnel exchanged the Death's-Head collar insignia for the Waffen-SS Sig-runes. The camp system expanded greatly after the invasion of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1941, when large numbers of Soviet soldiers were captured. Some were transferred to the camps, where their inhumane treatment became normal.
The ''Totenkopf'' Division still had close ties to the camp service and its members continued to wear the Death's-Head as their unit insignia. They were known for brutal tactics, a result of the original doctrine of "no pity" which Eicke had instilled in his camp personnel as far back as 1934, together with the fact that the original ''Totenkopfstandarte'' had "trained" themselves. The Division's ineffectiveness in France, as well as its war crimes, can in part be explained by its personnel who were more thugs than soldiers. When first formed a total of 6,500 men from the SS-TV were transferred into the ''Totenkopf'' Division. Over the course of the savage fighting in the East, the Division was twice effectively destroyed and recreated. Very few of the men who were part of the 1939 ''Standarten'' in Poland were still in the Division by 1945.
After the close of the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
, the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' was officially renamed the Waffen-SS in a speech made by Hitler in July 1940. Himmler also gained approval for the Waffen-SS to form its own high command, the ''Kommandoamt der Waffen-SS'' within the ''
SS-Führungshauptamt'', which was created in August 1940. It received command of the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (the ''
Leibstandarte
The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, (german: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guardin ...
'' and the ''
SS-Verfügungs-Division
The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich (german: 2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich") or SS Division Das Reich was an elite Division (military), division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the regiments of the ''SS-Verf ...
'', renamed ''Reich'') and the armed SS-TV regiments (the ''Totenkopf-Division'' together with the independent ''Totenkopf-Standarten''). The Waffen-SS was greatly expanded and allowed to recruit volunteers from conquered territories from the ethnic German and Germanic populations.
System of concentration camps
After Eicke was reassigned to combat duty, his Chief of Staff SS-''
Gruppenführer''
Richard Glücks was appointed the new
Concentration Camps Inspectorate (CCI) or IKL (''Inspektion der Konzentrationslager'') chief by Himmler. By 1940, the CCI came under the control of the ''Verwaltung und Wirtschaftshauptamt Hauptamt'' (VuWHA; Administration and Business office) which was set up under
Oswald Pohl. Then in 1942, the CCI became ''Amt D'' (Office D) of the consolidated main office known as the ''
SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt
The SS Main Economic and Administrative Office (german: SS-Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt; SS-WVHA) was a Nazi organization responsible for managing the finances, supply systems and business projects of the (a main branch of the ; SS). It ...
'' (SS Economic and Administrative Department; WVHA) under Pohl. Glücks continued to manage the camp administration until the end of the war. Therefore, the entire concentration camp system was placed under the authority of the WVHA with the Inspector of Concentration Camps a subordinate to the Chief of the WVHA.
![Majdanek (June 24, 1944)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Majdanek_%28June_24%2C_1944%29.jpg)
By 1941, prior to the "
Final Solution
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
", the concentration camps run by SS-TV, both in Germany and across occupied territories, grew into a massive system of institutionalized forced labour for the
SS. The concentration camp personnel began to arrive from the front-line SS formations upon medical discharge. Attack dogs were introduced to compensate for the personnel shortage.
Special death camps of ''Aktion Reinhard'' had also come into existence. Under the WVHA, the camps were separated into divisions of
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
,
concentration
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', an ...
, and
extermination camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
s, all linked by record-high profit margins propped up by the theft of cash and assets from the Holocaust victims. Gigantic camps at Auschwitz and Majdanek were built with the expectation of Soviet prisoners of war entering the camp labour after 1941.
During the war, almost half of the concentration camp officers served with the ''Waffen-SS'' combat divisions, including the ''Leibstandarte'', ''Das Reich'', Wiking, the Nord Division, and ''Totenkopf''.
[French L. MacLean, ]
The Camp Men: The SS Officers Who Ran the Nazi Concentration Camp System
' Schiffer Publishing, Pennsylvania. . Some concentration camp officers served as division commanders in the ''Waffen-SS''.
By October 1944 the ''Waffen-SS'' membership reached 800,000 and up to 910,000 men.
[Yisrael Gutman, Michael Berenbaum (1998)]
SS Personnel.
''Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp'', United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Indiana University Press, pp. 280-284. .
Within the camps themselves, there existed a hierarchy of camp titles and positions which were unique only to the camp service. Each camp was commanded by a ''
Kommandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
'', sometimes referred to as ''Lagerkommandant'', who was assisted by a camp adjutant and command staff. The prison barracks within the camp were supervised by a ''Rapportführer'' who was responsible for daily roll call and the camp daily schedule. The individual prisoner barracks were overseen by junior SS-NCOs called ''Blockführer'' who, in turn had one to two squads of SS soldiers responsible for overseeing the prisoners. Within the extermination camps, the ''Blockführer'' was in charge of the prisoner ''
Sonderkommando'' and was also the person who would physically gas victims in the camp's gas chambers.
![Crematorium at Auschwitz I 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Crematorium_at_Auschwitz_I_2012.jpg)
The Jewish ''Sonderkommando'' workers in turn, were terrorised by up to around 100 mostly collaborator
Trawniki men
Trawniki is a village in Świdnik County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the present-day gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Trawniki. It lies approximately south-east of Świdnik and south-east of the regio ...
per camp, called ''Wachmannschaften'' (security guards or watchmen).
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H26996, KZ Dachau, Verbrennungsofen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H26996%2C_KZ_Dachau%2C_Verbrennungsofen.jpg)
The camp perimeter and watch towers were overseen by a separate formation called the ''Wachbattalion'' (guard battalion). The guard battalion commander was responsible for providing watch bills to man guard towers and oversaw security patrols outside the camp. The battalion was organized on typical military lines with companies, platoons, and squads. The battalion commander was subordinate directly to the camp commander.
Concentration camps also had supply and medical personnel, attached to the headquarters office under the camp commander, as well as a security office with Gestapo and
Kripo
''Kriminalpolizei'' (, "criminal police") is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany, the Kripo was the criminal polic ...
personnel attached to the camp. Heydrich had been successful in getting control over the "political departments" of the camps. These security personnel were under direct command of ''
Sicherheitspolizei
The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...
'' (SiPo) commanders until September 1939 and thereafter, the
Reich Security Main Office
The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and ''Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...
(''Reichssicherheitshauptamt'', RSHA) commanders independent of the camps.
In addition to the regular SS personnel assigned to a concentration camp, there also existed a prisoner system of trustees known as ''
Kapo
A kapo or prisoner functionary (german: Funktionshäftling) was a prisoner in a Nazi camp who was assigned by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks.
Also called "prisoner self-administrat ...
s'' who performed a wide variety of duties from administration to overseeing other groups of prisoners. The ''Sonderkommandos'' were special groups of Jewish prisoners who assisted in the extermination camps with the disposal of bodies and other tasks. The duty of actually gassing prisoners was, however, always carried out by the SS.
The Holocaust
![Treblinka - Bredow Mentz Möller Hirtreiter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Treblinka_-_Bredow_Mentz_M%C3%B6ller_Hirtreiter.jpg)
In 1942 Glücks was increasingly involved in the administration of the ''
Endlösung
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
'', supplying personnel to assist in ''
Aktion Reinhardt
or ''Einsatz Reinhard''
, location = Occupied Poland
, date = October 1941 – November 1943
, incident_type = Mass deportations to extermination camps
, perpetrators = Odilo Globočnik, Hermann Höfle, Richard Thomalla, Erwin ...
'' (although the
death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
of
Belzec,
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...
and
Sobibor
Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland.
As an ...
were administered by
SS-und Polizei-führer Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globocnik (21 April 1904 – 31 May 1945) was an Austrian Nazi and a perpetrator of the Holocaust. He was an official of the Nazi Party and later a high-ranking leader of the SS. Globocnik had a leading role in Operation Re ...
of the
General Government
The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...
). In July 1942, Glücks met Himmler to discuss medical experiments on concentration camp inmates. All extermination orders were issued from Glücks' office to SS-TV commands throughout Nazi Germany and occupied Europe. He specifically authorized the purchase of ''
Zyklon B
Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consisted of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...
'' for use at
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
.
Already in 1943 the SS-TV units began to receive orders to conceal as much of the evidence of
the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
as possible. Himmler was most concerned about covering up Nazi crimes ever since the Polish 22,000 victims of the Soviet
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
were discovered well preserved underground near Smolensk.
The cremations began shortly thereafter and continued until the camps' official closure.
Camps were meticulously destroyed, sick prisoners were shot and others were marched on
death marches
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...
away from the advancing
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
. The SS-TV were also instrumental in the execution of hundreds of political prisoners to prevent their liberation.
By April 1945 many SS-TV had left their posts. Due to their notoriety, some removed their ''death head'' insignia to hide their identities. Camp duties were increasingly turned over to so-called "Auxiliary-SS", soldiers and civilians conscripted as camp guards so that the ''Totenkopf'' men could escape. However, many were arrested by the Allies and stood trial for war crimes at
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
between 1946 and 1949. "Immediately after their seizure by the Russians on May 9–10, 1945 – wrote Sydnor – the officers and men in the ''Totenkopf'' Division were transported to several detention camps inside the Soviet Union. Within six months of the end of the war, many prominent SSTK officers, including
Becker
Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...
, disappeared, most likely the victims of secret executions."
Concentration camp personnel
![Concentration_camp_SS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Concentration_camp_SS.jpg)
From the SS-TV inception, Eicke fostered an attitude of "inflexible harshness" exercised by the masters. This core belief continued to influence SS guards in all concentration camps even after Eicke had taken over command of the SS ''Totenkopf'' Division. Recruits were taught to hate their enemies through tough training regimes and
Nazi indoctrination.
Within camps, guards subjugated the inmates in an atmosphere of controlled, disciplined cruelty. This environment of formalized brutality influenced some of the SS-TV's most infamous commandants including
Rudolf Höß,
Franz Ziereis
Franz Xaver Ziereis (13 August 1905 – 24 May 1945) was the commandant of the Mauthausen concentration camp from 1939 until the camp was liberated by the American forces in 1945.
Early life and SS career
Ziereis was born on 13 August 1905 in M ...
,
Karl Otto Koch
Karl-Otto Koch (; 2 August 1897 – 5 April 1945) was a mid-ranking commander in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) of Nazi Germany who was the first commandant of the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen. From September 1941 until ...
,
Max Kögel, and
Amon Göth
Amon Leopold Göth (; alternative spelling ''Goeth''; 11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946) was an Austrian SS functionary and war criminal. He served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in Płaszów in German ...
.
In the last days of World War II, a special group called the "Auxiliary-SS" (''SS-Mannschaft'') was formed as a last-ditch effort to keep concentration camps running and allow regular SS personnel to escape. Auxiliary-SS members were not considered regular SS personnel, but were conscripted members from other branches of the German military, the Nazi Party, and the ''
Volkssturm
The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...
''. Such personnel wore a distinctive twin swastika collar patch and served as camp guard and administrative personnel until the surrender of Germany.
Profit
The SS, individually and collectively, benefited financially from the Holocaust. Slave labour at the camps was sold to private companies, or used to run lucrative SS-run industries, while the cost of prisoner upkeep was minimal. Himmler intended to make concentration camps into a profitable industry for the financial benefit of the SS. Wartime labour shortages meant that the concentration camps ended up as a significant labour source for all sectors of the German economy. The property of murdered Jews was stolen and auctioned off to the German public.
Individual personnel at the camps often embezzled some of the stolen property for themselves, and some were charged for theft.
Combat formations
* ''1st TK-Standarte 'Oberbayern'.'' Formed 1937 at
Dachau. During the Polish invasion conducted so-called "security operations" behind the lines. Which, in reality were operations of terrorizing and murdering the Polish civilian population. Redesignated ''1. SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment'',
[The title ''Totenkopf'' was retained by these three regiments to distinguish them from the three regiments of the SS-VT] and assigned to the ''
Totenkopf Division
The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (german: 3. SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf") was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, ''Totenkopf'', is German for "de ...
10/39''.
* ''2nd TK-Standarte 'Brandenburg'.'' Formed 1937 at
Oranienburg
Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.
Geography
Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.
Division of the town
Oranienburg ...
. During the Polish invasion conducted so-called "security operations" behind the lines, which were operations of terrorizing and murdering the Polish civilian population. Redesignated ''2. SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment'',
and assigned to the ''Totenkopf'' Division 10/39.
* ''3rd TK-Standarte 'Thüringen'.'' Formed 1937 at Buchenwald. During the Polish invasion conducted so-called "security operations" behind the lines, which were operations of terrorizing and murdering the Polish civilian population. Redesignated 3. SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment
and assigned to the ''Totenkopf'' Division, with some men forming the cadre of the 10. TK-Standarte, 11/39.
* ''4th TK-Standarte 'Ostmark'.'' Formed 1938 at Vienna and Berlin. III Sturmbann ''Götze'' detached to form the core of ''
SS Heimwehr Danzig
SS Heimwehr "Danzig" was an SS unit established in the Free City of Danzig (today Gdańsk and environs, Poland) before the Second World War. It fought with the German Army against the Polish Army during the invasion of Poland, and some of its ...
7/39''. Garrison duty at Prague 10/39 and in the Netherlands 6/40. Designated ''4. SS-Infanterie-Regiment 2/41'', assigned to ''
2. SS-Infanterie-Brigade 5/41''.
* ''
SS-Wachsturmbann 'Eimann'''. Formed 1939 at Danzig. During the Polish invasion conducted so-called "security operations" behind the lines, which were operations of terrorizing and murdering the Polish civilian population. Dissolved 1940.
* ''TK-Reiter-Standarte''. Formed 9/39 in Poland to conduct so-called "security operations" behind the lines, which were operations of terrorizing and murdering the Polish civilian population. Expanded and divided into ''1.'' and ''2. TK-Reiter-Standarten 5/40''. Redesignated ''1.'' and ''2. SS-Kavallerie-Regimenter 2/41'', combined into ''
SS-Kavallerie-Brigade'' (later ''
SS-Kavallerie-Division 'Florian Geyer''') 9/41.
* ''5th TK-Standarte 'Dietrich Eckart'.'' Formed 1939 at Berlin and Oranienburg. Designated ''5. SS-Infanterie-Regiment 2/41'', assigned to ''2. SS-Infanterie-Brigade 5/41''.
* ''6th TK-Standarte''. Formed 1939 at Prague. Garrison duty in Norway 5/40. Designated 6. SS-Infanterie-Regiment 2/41, assigned to Kampfgruppe Nord (later
6. SS-Gebirgs-Division ''Nord'') spring 41.
* ''7th TK-Standarte''. Formed 1939 at Brno. Garrison duty in Norway 5/40. Designated ''7. SS-Infanterie-Regiment 2/41'', assigned to ''Kampfgruppe Nord'' (later 6. SS-Gebirgs-Division ''Nord'') spring 41.
* ''8th TK-Standarte''. Formed 1939 at Crakow. Designated ''8. SS-Infanterie-Regiment 2/41'', assigned to ''
1. SS-Infanterie-Brigade'' 4/41.
* ''9th TK-Standarte''. Formed 1939 at Danzig. Reorganized (with elements of St. 12) into ''Standarte "K"'' (Kirkenes, Norway) 8-11/40, redesignated ''9. SS-Infanterie-Regiment'' 2/41, assigned to Kampfgruppe Nord spring 41. Incorporated into SS-Regiment ''Thule'' 8/42.
* ''10th TK-Standarte''. Formed 1939 at Buchenwald. Garrison duties in Poland 1940. Designated 10. SS-Infanterie-Regiment 2/41, assigned to ''1. SS-Infanterie-Brigade 4/41''.
* ''11th TK-Standarte''. Formed 1939 at Radom. Garrison duty in the Netherlands 5/40. Assigned to
SS-Infanterie-Division (mot) ''Das Reich'' to replace the ''2. SS-Infanterie-Regiment ''Germania'' 12/40'' and redesignated ''11. SS-Infanterie-Regiment''.
* ''TK-Standarten 12-16'' were raised in the winter of 1939–40, but disbanded the following summer, their personnel used to fill out other units.
See also
*
German war crimes
The governments of the German Empire and Nazi Germany (under Adolf Hitler) ordered, organized and condoned a substantial number of war crimes, first in the Herero and Namaqua genocide and then in the First and Second World Wars. The most nota ...
*
Glossary of Nazi Germany
This is a list of words, terms, concepts and slogans of Nazi Germany used in the historiography covering the Nazi regime.
Some words were coined by Adolf Hitler and other Nazi Party members. Other words and concepts were borrowed and appropriated, ...
*
List of SS personnel
Between 1925 and 1945, the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) grew from eight members to over a quarter of a million ''Waffen-SS'' and over a million '' Allgemeine-SS'' members. Other members included the ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (SS-TV), which ran ...
*
Nazi gold
Nazi gold (german: Raubgold, "stolen gold") is gold possessed by Nazi Germany. Much of the focus of the discussion is about how much of this was transferred by Germany to overseas banks during World War II; the ruling Nazi party executed a policy o ...
*
Postenpflicht
The ''Postenpflicht'' ( German: "Duty of guards") was a general order issued to SS-Totenkopfverbände guards in Nazi concentration camps to summarily execute insubordinate prisoners. The order required guards to shoot prisoners who engaged ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ss-Totenkopfverbande
German words and phrases
Military units and formations of the Waffen-SS
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi SS
20th-century criminals